i'm shirleen allicott and i'm walter perez. tonight on visions 2014.. we've got you covered from authentic mexican food.to top of the line tequila.. because its good stuff. we'll meet an inspiring artist and some aspiring entrepreneurs.. "i love being the boss. (laugh)" plus a local initiative that is helping with the child immigration epidemic. "i mean they are kids" hello and welcome to visions 2014.our annual celebration of hispanic history and culture. we are here at the national constitution center where they are celebrating hispanic heritage month with some new display items.. and they have some great events planned during the special event which runs from september 15th to october 15th. we'll show you more on that later.but first we head to a neighborhood that has been the centerpiece for hispanic culture in philadelphia since the 1950's. the golden block in the fairhill

district has changed through the decades but it's home to some of the city's best authentic latino cuisine. we are part of philadelphia so we want to make sure that it's how great we look and how great we are doing in the area adorned with palm tree sculptures and gold swirled sidewalks.el blocque de oro or the golden block.is the heart of philadelphia's latin community. it starts from allegheny, to godfrey all of 5th street it's businesses. and just a stroll down the golden pathways will lead you to some of philadelphia's greatest authentic latin cuisine.. a lot of people even colombian's say that these are one of the best colombian baked goods in the area. the colombian bakery has graced the golden block with its presence 5 years ago.and has since been a staple in the community. even though we sell colombian baked goods my step-dad the one who bakes he isn't colombian, he's mexican and he's been making colombian baked goods for

over 20 years now.and my mother and i are nicaraguan so it's an interesting mix. and you can't go to the colombian bakery without trying the popular pan de bono which is made with tapioca flour and white cheese and it's really good, it's very addictive other staples 100 percent authentic latin food, latin cusine tierra colombiana has been his longstanding on the block for over 20 years.and continues to be a success. and while the name tierra colombiana suggests that the cuisine is colombian.the restaurant has dishes from many latino cultures. from puerto rico from costa rica from ecuador, like a little bit from everywhere and now we can say we have a mixed latino menu including dishes like bandeja tapica from colombia and the salmon salmul from dominican republic.. another one from costa rica cao pinto uh that's a big dish. just off 5th street on 2nd and

allegheny is freddy's and tony's the go-to when it comes to puerto rican cuisine. it's a little mom and pop shop but i'm proud of you know this little mom and pop shop freddy's and tony's is run by dhalma and her sons roberto and antonio.and they bring that family atmosphere to the dinner table. people say they like our food because it tastes like home like their mom cooked its home cooked meals their specialty.the roast pork shoulder. a lot of people come from everywhere it's just amazing the family style dining fills the table with dishes like the rice and beans, mofongo and frijoles such as chicken and beef patties sometime the line is out to the door. the barrio continues to his transform, and you can always count on a great meal. every neighborhood needs a good mexican restaurant.but finding the real deal isn't always eas.. but three new restaurants are bringing authentic mexican food to the city of brotherly love. there is one person who told me, your job is going to be like your second house your gonna be here all the time.

and now amado sandoval is making blue corn like home.the restaurant is owned and operated by the sandoval family. to work with family its really fun. 3 brothers and a sister own the spot and their uncle is the head chef. they grow up in mexico, they have lot of experience working in mexico, like fine dining restaurant in mexico. each dish is a perfect example of fine dining in mexico city. mexican food is a lot a lot of things good food, good dishes good entrees its not everything spicy you know. the cactus used in the azteca huarache is straight from mexico.authentic ingredients for authentic mexican cuisine. we get everything we make from mexico we make the tortillas in here the difference is the flavors sauce, the freshness of the dish. blue corn isn't just a name.it's a key ingredient from the sandoval's hometown in puebla. blue corn has more vitamins than the white corn we use blue corn flour for some dishes, dessert. this family from mexico has made

a home in the italian market. italian market has a lot of history to be honest we become part of their family now, we feel part of their family. they're having a blast at café ynez.. yeah, we enjoy it born in mexico, head chef j-c pina has built an all day menu that brings the flavors of his home to the graduate hospital neighborhood. we make it from scratch, man we are always different with things. the star of the dinner menu is the pan seared salmon atop a creamy queso sauce with spinach, corn and roasted poblanos. i try to make it enough you can eat it, you can enjoy because most of the plates you see it, mexican food, it's like for four people, the thing we're trying to do is small portions. but it's the brunch that brings the buzz.the huevos rancheros pairs pork tacos with an egg all on top of breakfast potatoes. they also serve delicious pastries and, to take the chill off this fall, they have a hot chocolate made with mexican cocoa.

when my parents came to america it was the only job i can find was in the kitchen. and now adan trinidad owns his own restaurant.opening sancho pistola's in january.. the food at sancho has a lot of influence from my heritage from mexico but i also took a lot of influence from central and south america and asia. what does a mexican born chef do with an asian steamed bun? we stuff them with pork carnitas guacamole and that kind of a fusion. the spicy tuna guacamole is another standout snack to go along with 17 tacos on the menu.the philosophy.easy to eat food and great drinks. we are making our signature cocktail, the sancho. mezcal is used in many of the house margaritas..it's made from the same plant as tequila with a smokier flavor and it makes sancho's a destination for great cocktails. mezcal is hard to find in pennsylvania.not a lot of wine and spirit stores carry it. but tequila?? that's a little easier to get a hold of.

in fact, a there's a man right here in philadelphia who has created his very own. it's an immigrant story that started 30 years ago when david suro moved to philadelphia from mexico.and brought his love for tequila with him. i see tequila as a way to express our culture tequila is its people, tequila is it's cities, tequila is a climate, tequila is home for me. he found strong misconceptions in the us about mexico's most famous spirit. people was kind of afraid of tequila and people don't understand tequila they take tequila as a spirit of very low quality and dangerous. so he created an artisan tequila called siembra azul. since 1996 i start to work on this project you know try to change this perceptions. help the people to understand better what tequila is all about.

a big selling point? it's made with 100% agave with different expressions of the tequila. whether its the blanco. this is the very basic. what it is is the pure expression of agave. and then we have siembra biez blanco. this is the new product that is about to be launch nationwide that's exciting. there are the aged. tequilas.anejo aged for two years and eliza extra anejo. that is aged for 6 years. which is the highest expression we have in all the siembra azul family. it's good stuff that's why! how do you feel about where we've come, almost 30 years later? it is a dream come true for me to finally have tequila recognized for what it is, you know, an amazing spirit with deep roots into our traditions in mexico a great emblematic symbol of what mexico is all about. and it's not just great tequila.they have the siembra azul foundation. that's right.they donate a portion of their proceeds to the foundation which helps educate and improve the lives of latino and mexican immigrants. and that money is needed right now.. coming up next on visions we will dive into the childhood immigration issue and how it is affecting us right here in

philadelphia. it's very, very discombobulating and sometimes terrifying. and later on we meet some immigrants who are now successful entrepreneurs, thanks to a program geared specifically for latinos. stick around visions 2014 will for latinos. stick around visions 2014 will be right back. celebrate blinds to go's 60th anniversary sale. buy one get 50% off one. because you know what they say: 60 is the new 50. they also say your're only as young as you feel. we feel great. how about those blinds of yours? blinds to go blinds for life.

you need blinds. you know it. your neighbours know it. complete strangers passing by your house know it. don't be that house. do something about it. during blinds to go's 60th anniversary sale going on now. buy one, get a second at half price. blinds to go blinds for life. welcome back to visions 2014.i'm shirleen allicott. and i'm walter perez. we are at the national constitution center and behind us you'll see the american national tree. it tells the stories of 100 americans who shaped the constitutional history here in the united states. and some prominent hispanics are part of that history like cesar chavez and casimiro barela. incredible success stories of immigrants who have come and made this country what it is. but right now there is an immigration crisis.thousands of children crossing the border.undocumented, with no parents or guardians. locally there are a number of organizations responding to this emergency and helping these kids survive.

we can't show you their faces because even here in philadelphia, they remain at risk from coyotes looking to get paid for smuggling them across the border. most are teenagers .between the ages of 14 and 17 but some are as young as 4 with notes pinned to their chest giving authorities the name and number of a relative here in the us. if you need help with any of it, you should ask us. they come from countries like guatemala, el salvador and honduras..and they're often fleeing extreme poverty and gang warfare in their homeland. children seeing friends and family members murdered or losing them, having them kidnapped, children being essentially sold by their families into servitude. and the journey to escape can be just as traumatic for the children.with no parents to protect them.. crossing borders from central america through mexico and into the united states. they are often robbed, raped and sometimes killed along the way.

it's always bad. la puerta abierta helps children cope with the emotional trauma .providing individual and group counseling. but also using art and gardening projects to build trust. it's hard work, we have to use many tools to allow them to open up. they also help reunite children with parents who immigrated years earlier to build a better life for their family. and almost always the reunification process goes badly. it's the first time that they are together maybe after 10 years. they were like babies. now they're adolescents. it's bitter, why did you leave us? why did you let all of these bad things happen to us? moms say i did everything for you! and now you come here and you're giving me a hard time! for those kids who come to the us knowing no one, lutheran children & family services finds foster families .and they help the children learn english and catch up on their schoolwork. because in their home countries, they've gotten 5 maybe 6 years

of education at most, even as a 14-15 or 16 year old youth. and now they're placed in 9th or 10th grade and they've never sat in a classroom before. it's very, very discombobulating and sometimes terrifying. the number of unaccompanied central american children crossing the us border has doubled each year since 2010. 60-80,000 kids are expected to make the journey this year alone.overwhelming federal facilities along the border. next year some immigrant rights agencies predict that number could climb to 130,000 children...making this the largest refugee crisis on u-s soil since the mariel boatlift from cuba in 1980. while critics blame lax immigration enforcement for the problem, a spokesperson for the united nations calls it a heartbreaking trend and says the children deserve to be protected. local relief workers agree. i think we need to be able to reach out to folks, i mean they are kids and say we welcome you

here. lutheran children & family services also provides legal services, helping the children earn special immigrant juvenile status after 5 years, they can apply for us citizenship. and possibly be a voter one day here in philadelphia. hispanic voters will have a big say in the political landscape as their community continues to grow.dan cuellar has the story. the growth in philadelphia's latino population has been explosive.up 46% in a decade.according to the latest u-s census. latinos aren't strong enough to make or break a candidate. but state representative angel cruz.one of only two latino lawmakers in harrisburg. says the hispanic community has yet to translate their growing numbers into increased political power. how engaged do you think latinos are in the voting process? not as much as they can.uh we need to educate the ones that do participate often. these are the people that are you are putting into office to fight for

you and represent you. if they knew the candidates, then i think they would be motivated to participate, if it was one of their own. in 2007, maria quinones-sanchez became the first latina to serve on philadelphia city council. she says the secret to success is focusing on the problems of the barrio and the greater community beyond i represent a district that is diverse .. the majority of the voters are not latino. .. have a large aa community .. large caucasian community that i have to work with and represent. that's the philosophy of ken trujillo as well. a lawyer and owner of spanish language tv, radio and online media ventures, he'll likely be the first latino to ever run for mayor of philadelphia. if someone wants to be mayor of philadelphia .. they have to be mayor of all of philadelphia. we might be a city of

neighborhoods .. but ultimately we are a city together. leslie acosta will soon become the only latina serving in the statehouse in harrisburg.. after defeating embattled state rep jp miranda in the spring primary. how did you rally the people to vote on your behalf. the message was right the ability to connect with people .. at their level helped rally people around this campaign and around me. and getting latinos civically engaged is a big challenge. voter turnout in the hispanic community has long lagged behind african americans and whites. are there language barrier issues? absolutely. and that's why ken trujillo started his spanish language media company. and last fall, we launched mi philly dot com and quickly became the most viewed spanish language website in the region. civic leaders in the hispanic community say converting their power in numbers into real political power is a key to solving problems in the barrio.

44% percent of the people live under 20k dollars and there's an underemployment of 50%. i would hope that jobs is hugely important. housing is another issue that we have. and cleaning up our community ..we want to be able to bring resources to our community that people feel good and live on a block that is clean. in my view , education is not just an issue .. it is the seminal issue of our generation. we need to think about what in 10 or 20 years what a great educational system in philadelphia looks like. it was 30 years ago that wilson goode became the first african american mayor. and time will tell if we see our first hispanic mayor in 2016. something to keep an eye on. coming up.we'll feature the latino business resource center.a group based in reading, pennsylvania that is inspiring latino entrepeneurs. that's next on visions 2014

welcome back to visions 2014..our annual celebration of hispanic history and culture..we are here at the national constitution center. they've added so many great

exhibitions to celebrate hispanic heritage. there's a ball hit by roberto clemente, the first hispanic-american to be inducted into the baseball hall of fame.. and sonia sotamayor's bible from her swearing in ceremony when she became the first hispanic supreme court judge in 2009. inspiring stories.and that's what they are doing in reading, pennsylvania. inspiring latino entrepeneurs at the latino business resource center. how to succeed as a latino entrepreneur is really an 8 week program that teaches the latino entrepreneur how to create their business plan and how to start and manage their business. the kutztown university seminars are one of a kind program in pennsylvania, reaching more than 450 latino's since its inception. we started the program in reading 6 years ago now we've done it in the lehigh valley and kennet square. the bi-lingual seminars are designed to cultivate the budding entrepreneur's ideas while broadening their knowledge base of the business world. it's how i'm going to do the

bookkeeping how i'm going to choose the legal structure, what bank products i'm going to use, am i going to need a loan or not. so we develop that concept at the beginning which is something nobody really wants to see, but they need it. (laugh) we do have great success stories. paula calvo, of smartz studios in reading is one of those stories. i love being the boss. (laugh) after immigrating to american 3 years ago, paula and her company have developed two mobile applications from the ground up. we have two apps in the market teach kids about heritage, about culture, about language about all the things we want to teach our kid. it's fun when you own your own company you can do a lot of things and it's your baby she owes much of her business smarts to the latino entrepreneurs program. you can think i am not alone in this adventure i can can obtain help with people that really really know how to do things. maybe in a couple year this little company can give some

people work. and doing our big things. and the success don't stop there from event planners to photographers to magazine publishers carolina martines knows it takes networking and support to truly succeed. for me it's absolutely satisfying. because it's actually helping my community. they are increasing jobs they are increasing taxes and they are developing the academy around them. it's my home, it's my kids home and i'm doing something really, really good. your dreams come true if you work hard. the seminars start up again this fall to help incubate ideas into profitable business.. next stop the hit abc show the shark tank.. still ahead.we've got the amazing story o

this is angel corella .the new artistic director of the pennsylvania ballet.born in madrid, spain corella is a superstar in the world dancing community.and he's starred in advertisements with gwyneth paltrow.. the 38-year old brings a new style to the troupe here in philadelphia.. as they embark on their 51st season which kicks off in october.

welcome to philly angel corell.. well, pedro fuller has been here for 35 years.and creating art is his passion as well.. dan cuellar shares his inspiring story. in 1979, and at just 17 years old, local artist, pedro fuller escaped the ongoing war in his home country of nicaragua to live with his mother in camden. you stay over there you die easy because the war very, very heavy coming over here my mother told me, you go to a school or you go to, to work. whatever you want, i put it in your hands a student at a fine arts academy. fuller opted for education, attending woodrow wilson high school and later graduating with a degree in painting from the pennsylvania academy of the fine art. i remember for somebody bring to me one book......what, let me see, wow...big impression for me and later for me i do my first painting. fuller's day job is a custodian on the camden campus of rutgers university.but the hours are never an issue when it comes to perfecting his art.working mostly in oil and pastels, his images are often abstract in style.reminiscent of pablo picasso or chagall.

people like my colors, my shape, my style, they say wow i love it.. my style is, this is pedro fuller, you know this my personal idea, my personal opinion, my personal everything coming to my heart drawing inspiration from the world around him, pablo has compiled an impressive collection of art.from sprawling landscapes to intense and intricate designs. i have right now, maybe 5/6,000 sketch ready for paint i concentrate my painting first you know and, and looking at the colors. his work has been displayed in museums and galleries across the region, receiving high praise and acclaim from collectors and gallery owners. the people coming to whatever gallery, museum the people say wow i don't understand, but you know what.i love the colors, the colors talk to me. that's going to do it for this edition of visions 2014.. thanks to the national constitution center for hosting us.their display honoring hispanic american trailblazers runs from septemebr 15th through october 15th. and thanks to dann cuellar and all our guests.and thanks to you and thanks to dann cuellar and all our guests.and thanks to you for watching. celebrate blinds to go's 60th anniversary sale.

buy one get 50% off one. because you know what they say: 60 is the new 50. they also say your're only as young as you feel. we feel great. how about those blinds of yours? blinds to go blinds for life.

your windows don't need a facelift. just a new wardrobe. take them shopping during blinds to go's 60th anniversary sale going on now. buy one get second at half price. blinds to go is 60. boy, time goes fast. and so will this sale. blinds to go blinds for life.

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